Electromagnetically operated valves



R. o. COOKSLEY 3,407,845

ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED VALVES Oct. 29, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 17, 1964 Oct. 29, 1968 R. D.'COOKSLEY ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED VALVES 4 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 17. 1964 Fig.3

Oct. 29, 1968 Filed Nov. 17, 1964 Fig 5 R. D. COOKSLEY ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED VALVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Nov. 17, 1964 IUXU qow Patented Oct. 2! 1968 Unit State aw e i member need be moved but a small distance inorder to provide a flow passage equal to the maximum'flow passage of the inlet and outlet ports." By thus reducing the required "fi giiz tgg f g g; g f g g length f stroke of the valve-member and its associated 'c mp hi- 6 65 of n *f 5 stem, the armature of a magnetic actuator need be moved b fi i fihq'n. of ap li aflafi '314;2'3 but a short distance fully to open and close the valve.

33651345 ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED VVALYES 7 O t, 519 3313 p lic tion Nov. '17, 1964, Sen Accordingly, the armature of the magnetic actuatorwcan Np. 411 ,89 g p bearranged to move withina region overlappingla= part 3 7 Q1) of its spaced core structure. This means .that the magnetic actuator develops substantially its maximum force. at the 10 beginning of the stroke and assures rapid operation :of the valve between its fully-open and closedpositions.

J 0am mscL'osUnn Afini'a gnetigallyfbp t d v v is provided i a valve This is in'contrast with solenoids including a plunger and member'andyalve opening which is quite large in" flow in contrast with other types of magnetic actuators where area compared with the flow areas of th inlet nd o tlet the operating force is quite low at the beginning of the By providing stop means for the valve member, stroke due to the wide spacing of the armature from the its movement is restricted so that with a very short valve magnetic structure, i.e., the large air gap. In solenoids, strok'e,f the Openingthrough the valve will be equal to H the actuating force rises from a low value to a maximum the area of one of the inlet and outletlportsl'Accordingly, and then decreases as the core approaches-a magnetic the armature of the magnetieactuator can b restricted center or neutral position/Moreover, the magnetic fluii for movementwithin'an overlapping area of a cup-shaped path is never closed in a solenoid as it is in the magnetic stationary member to provide relatively high forces for actuator of the present invention."Additionally, the magactuating the valve with a minimum of power. The forenetic actuator of the present invention lends itself toan goin g'features are included in a variation comprising a explosion-proof construction, being sealed againstingress sixway valve for control of fluid flow between two inlet and egress of all fluids, and utilizes power of a low order sand' two outlet ports. Two additional ports are of magnitude compared with that heeded to develop correspe'ct'ively flow-connected to aheat-exchangerl'by way responding forces by soleniods. It is further characterized of the inlet and outlet ports The valves" also include by the use of direct current, low losses, and minimized structure for preventing water-hammer; i p

7 f temperature under co'ntinuousoperation and in high-tem- 1 perature ambient conditions is avoided. With power fail- This application is a continuation-impart of my appli ure, the valve may be manuallyactuated; cation Ser. No, 314,236, filed Oct. ,7, 1963, now Patent Notwithstanding that the valve" meinber opens and 1:10. 3,306,570. i closesalarge diameter flow area as compared with the This invention relates tie-valves; particularly of the type diametersof the inlet andoutlet ports, nevertheless there heating. Possibility of failure from an undue rise ofadapted foroperation by magnetic operating devices, and is attained balanced operation by"reason of oppositely has'fo'r' anobje'jct the provision of a valve with'astroke acting pressures on the valve mem ber which'further re .leng'thlhetween fully open and closed positions sofsmall I duces the power requirements'ofthe magnetic actuator as to take advantage of the maximum operating forces in either direction. In this connectionjit will be seen that deyeloped by thevalve during the initialp'oltion of the 40 increasing the'diameter of a valve, member greatly instroke. movement. creases the area subjected to a difierential of pressure and,

Thdugh;magnetic valves have long been proposedand hence, greatlyincreases the actuating force required to utilized, {nevertheless they have left much to be desired move the valve'member against the upstream"pressure. for'theYreason that 'a'solenoid actuator has the,charact er- The present invention provides a balancing pressure which istie of developing a very low magnitude of operating overcomes the aforesaid problem. force with the armature or solenoid core in its remote posi- Further in accordance with the invention, the valve ,tio'n jrom .the. stationary coil and associated magnetic stern has secured to it a diaphragm which .serves to se'al structureif This characteristic of magnetic actuators has at its periphery the valve body and an associated housing, made it difiicult to produce valves of compactdesignand which housing is provided 'with a toroidal-shaped chamvalves which require a low order of power for their her within which a correspondingly shaped outer portion actuation. Additionally, upon the rapid closing of the of the diaphragm is disposed. Upon fast operation of the valve, water-hammer occurs and to avoid water-hammer valve, the toroidal-shaped portion ofthe diaphragm eitfur'therand additional provisions must ordinarily be made. pands and compresses'air within the -toroi ial-shape rl In carrying out the present invention in one form therechamber, thus taking up the shock which otherwise could of, there is provided a valve 'body having inlet and outlet produce water-hammer and shocks on the piping system. ports in flow connection one with the other through a The diaphragm additionally is tightly clamped to the valve passage. A'valve seat forms the outer periphery of this stem and thus isolates the housing from the valve body. passage and by means of a valve member movable into It is through the action of the aforesaid diaphragm and out of engagement with the passage, the valve may that the balancing forces are applied to the valve member be opened and closed. The passage and the valve seat so that low operating forces are required though the have a diameter which provides an area for flow of fluid valve member may have an area twice that of the inlet through the valve which is large compared with the area and outlet ports. I T of the inlet and 'outlet ports. This means that the'valve V The valve may be either normally closed or normally -most part being interchangeable. It is both compact and reliable in operation.

For further objects and advantages of the invention and for a detailed discussion of several embodiments thereof,

reference is to be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a normally open valve embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional drawing of the valve at a much reduced scale over that of FIG. .1 and illustrates the outward. appearance and compactness of the. valve; FIG. 3 is a'side .view partlyin' section illustrating a normally closed .valve and its magnetic-actuator; FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken. on the line 4-4 .,of

FIG. 5 is asection'al view: ofa modified form ofythe invention; and E FIG. 6 is a sectional view of-a six-Way valve cmbodying the invention. x l 7 Referring now to FIG. 1, there has: been illustrated in the closed position a normally open valve 10 comprising a valve body 11 having an-inlet port 12 and an outlet port 13. A threaded opening 12a is provided for threaded connection to a length of pipe forming part of the piping system. The inlet port 12 is kidney-shaped and its net flow area is approximately equal to the cross-sectional flow area of opening 12a and also that of the outlet port 13. The latter port is likewise provided with a threaded opening 13a for a discharge pipe which will be threaded therein. In this connection, it is to be understood that pipes may be soldered or brazed to the valve body. 11. As explained in my copending application, Ser. No. 314,- 236, filed Oct. 7, 1963, the valve body 11 may be made a component part of a piping system in the absence of the operating structure associated with the valve and carried by a valve housing 14 and an associated magnetic actuator within the housing 15. An O-ring 14d provides a tight seal between the valve housing 14 and the housing of an actuatDr 15. I p I p Th'e outlet port 13 communicates with a passage 16 having a diameter which provides for the passage 16 a fiovy area much greater than that of the inlet port 12 and of the outletport 13. It is made much greater so that the movement of a valve member 18 toward and away from the seat 17 need have but a very short length of travel fully to open the valve. Thus, the seat 17 lies at the periphery of the enlarged passage 16 and is preferably of frusto-conical shape as illustrated. By fully Open is meant a movement of the valve member 18 which opens a how passage of area at least equal to the smaller flow area of the inlet and outlet ports 12 and 13 and their associated piping. As shown, the inlet and outlet lines as well as inlet and outlet ports 12 and 13 have flow areas approximately equal one to the other.

' The valve member 18 is made of a material best suited to the particular fluids to be controlled by the valve. In one "form of 'the invention a synthetic rubber-lik'e'rsin generally designated as Buna-s' has been found satisfactory for awide variety of applications including air and water. The valve member 18 is clamped between two metallic discs or' washers 19 and 20. A headed end'23a of a valve stem23 supports the lower reinforcing disc 19.

overlying the disc 20 is a diaphragm 21 which also mayibe made 'of any suitable flexible material preferably Buria-s rubber. It has a disc-shaped central portion of less diameter than the reinforcing disc 20, the central portion terminating in an upwardly extending toroidal-shaped portion which is semi-circular in cross-section. The outer periphery 21b is of thickened cross section and is disposed between the valve body 11 and a recessed notch provided by the housings 11 and 14. The three surfaces which clamp the thickened periphery 21b not only provide a tight leakproof seal but also anchor the outer periphery against movement by valve-balancing forces later described in detail. The housing 14 is secured to the valve body 11.. by

suitable fastening screws 140, FIG. 2. Thus, the diaphragm 21 with its toroidal-shaped section 21a and its flange 21b, together with the flat section, forms a seal between the inner portion of housing 14 and the flow passages from inlet to outlet of the valve.

Disposed above the flat central portion of the diaphragm 21 is a clamping disc 22 against which there is disposed a cylindrical member or collar 24 nesting within an enlarged central opening of the housing 14. It will be observed that the stem 23 is provided with an annular groove in which is disposed a locking ring 25 of the split-type. The length of 'the collar 24 is i such 't hat'when pressed downwardly to 'its' "illustrated position, during initial 5 assernbly of the" valve, "it places the flat clentral'part of the diaphragm 'zlunder compress'ion and likewise placesiunder compression between. discs 19 audit) the valve member 18. Thus, thesplit-ring 25 holds together the assembly as a whole.

I The valvestem 23 has a length 23b of reduced crosssectional area which extends upwardly through a downwardly depending leg 27a of the central magnetic'structur'e 27 of the: magnetic actuator 28. The magnetic actuator 28 has an armature 29, an operating coil 30 and an outer magnetic structure 31 which is cupashaped with the length of the. cylindrical portion. somewhat greater than that of the central portion 27 for disposition ofthenarmatur within the magnetic field produced by. coil 30. As shown, thecoil 30 is energized and the magnetic field extends by way of the central part 27 .of the core structure outwardly around the lower flat portion of the cup-shaped structure upwardly along the cylindrical portion across the very narrow peripheral air gap, thence through the armature, and back to the central position.

As shown, the air gap between the armature 29 and the upper surface of the central core member 27. is greatly exaggerated. In practice, this air gap is zero or substan"- tially so. By the narrow circumferential air gap between the periphery of the armature and the inner surface of the cup-shaped core member, the effect of residual magnetism, upon. dee'nergiz'atiod'of coil 30, is-overcome and a relatively light spring 33 may be used to assure opening of the valve. 1

The central inner core structure 27 is counterbored to provide space for the biasing spring 33 which bears against the armature 29 to apply an upward valve-opening force thereto. The coil 30 is sealed into the cupshaped magnetic structure 31 and to the inner core structure 27 by conventional potting compound. The core 27 has its extending portion 27a secured to housing 15 b means of a set screw 35. I

In assembling the valve, a locking screw 36 of armature 29 is assumed to be out of engagement with the upper end of the valve stem 23b. Hence, by pressing downwardly on the tapered upper end of the valve stem 23b, the valve member, 18 may be pressed downwardly against the valve seat .with any selected magnitude of valve-closing pressure. With the stem held in that position, against the'opening biasing force of spring 33, the set screw 36 is tightened, as by an Allen-wrench and the valve is thereby made ready for operation.

As explained in my copending application, powermay be supplied through conductors 38 which lead into an assembly 39 comprising a half-wave or preferably a fullwave rectifier for application as by conductors 40 of direct current to the coil 30. By utilizing direct current, a much greater attractive etfort may be developed for a given vsize coil and a given size of magnetic structure and has the further advantage of eliminating entirely chatter which would be present if alternating current were utilized.

It is to be observed that the mounting assembly for the rectifier assembly 39 comprises a flange 41 secured the upper body member 15 as by a plurality of set screws 42, an O-ring 43 providing a gas-tight seal. The

- ments.

flange 41 terminatesin a threaded nipple-portion 44 tore.- ceive piping for the conductors which are themselves preferably sealed into the rectifier assembly. 39. zjl'hus, vvith the seal provided by a diaphragm 46, there is provided an explosion-proof assembly. I The housing a 15 is sealed at its open upper end by means of a flexible diaphragm 46 held in place-by a flange rncmber 47 which itself is locked into position by asplit ring .48 nesting within an annular groove in the hpperendofhou'sing. 15. In the. eventof power failure at the conductotgs 38, it wiilibe understood that the spring 33 will tnove, the stem and valvemember 18 upwardly to open the valve. In the event that it is to be closed manually, a set screw. 50 may be loosened and a lcnurled rim of a threaded .actuating member 51 then turned in a direction to press downwardly .on thediaphragm. to engage theupperend of the valve stem 23b, thus to pr oduce movement ,of the valve member 18 to itsclosed position against the, seat 17. t

,. Themanually operable member 5 1 also be used as .an adjustable stop member to predetermine-the ex} tent of movement of valve member 18 toward open position. ,'l"hus, that movement may be less than permitted by engagement oithe upper surface of disc22 against the lower flat, centrally located surface of housing member 14. I

, In normal operation,.t he supply circuit 38from the ordinary alternating current supply lines need be but opened and closed to operate the valve from its normally open-position to its closed position. It is to be noted that: the movement or valve stroke between normally open and normally closed positions is. very short.It is made short so that the armature 29 always has a part of its outer periphery within the confines of the upper end of the cup-shaped armature structure 31, that is, both inthe fully open and fully closed positions. This means that substantially the maximum force developed by the magnet is available at the initial portion of the movement of the valve from its open position to its closed pgsition. The result is an extremely ,fast action, only onethirtieth of. a second being required, for valves having the following typical dimensions. For an inlet port of one-quarter inch diameter, or equivalent,the passage 16 will have a one-inch diameter. This means that thevalve member 18 need to be moved ,but 0.016 inch ,tgnprovide a flow passage at the valve seat 17 equal to that of the inlet and outlet ports. I For half-inch inlet and outlet ports, .the sameone inch passage 16 may be utilized since in that case the movement of the valve member 18 will only be 0.063

If th e same valve be used for either application, his to be. understood that the needed stroke length may be predetermined by presetting the stop member 51 by its lgnurled portion and then locking it into place by the'set .screw50.. Where the passage 16 has a diameter of, l;6 25 inches, then the needed stroke for the quarter-inch ports will be but A .inch, and for the half-inch ports, the stroke will 'o nly. be i of an inch. 1 The foregoing is. illustr ative of how. the dimensions ay be. changed to take advantage of the principles of the presentinvention tomeet many different require- It is important to the present invention to have a prcssure balanced valve operation. 'Thus, with the inlet pressure applied through the inlet port 12 and with the parts in the positions shown in FIG. 1, it will be seen that the inlet-pressure is acting upon the arcuate portion 21a of the diaphragm sealing member 21, which through its mechanical connection to the valve member, tends to move it and the stem 23 upwardly and towards the open positionJI-Iowever, the circumferential area 20a receives the same inlet pressure and acts in the opposite direction to move the valve member and the stem 23 toward closed position. These areas provide substantial balancing of the forces on the valvememberilt8 and stem 23. Thus, the requirements-for opening the valve. are satisfied by a relatively light spring 33. Of course, whei'e the valve is power-opened, FIG. 6, the samejadvantagesae crue, and such a type of valvewillfalso later be described in connection with FIG. 3. i v In connection with the balancing ation,'thefma teriai oiwhich the diaphragm istm'ade is important 'fer'the reason that with the valvemember closed, the arcuate portion.21a must be sufficiently resistant toexpansion that the upwardly-acting force at all times remains effective on the valve member and stem 23. For high-pres sure valves, as 125 pounds per squareiuc'h, theduromete'r hardness of the synthetic rubber material willlbejgr eater'j, i.e., of the order of 80.to 9013s against a 'dtiroinct'er hardness of 60 to 70 for low-pressure valves. for valves, roughly rated for 40 to 50 pouudsper square inch, the low durometer hardness will be used, auditor valves up to .125. pounds per square inch a duronl'eter hardness of about will be indicated. Here again,the'se figu"res areto be taken as illustrative andnot as limiting the scope of the invention. Aside from the described spacing of the circular toroidal portion 21a from its adjacent surface 14a, the spacing should be adequate, for the expansion of that toroidal portion t'o eliminate the 'socalled water-hammer when the valve is closed. In'this connection, it is to be understood that the chamber between the toroidal part 21a and the surface 14a is sealed to atmosphere, and thus the trapped air 'within that chamber aids in avoiding water-hammer due to the compression thereof. p Y The substantial amount f power developed by the magnetic actuator makes possible themovement of the valve member 18 from its fully open position to its closed position in milliseconds.

By reason of the rapid action, water-hammer would ordinarily be expected. However, water-hammer result ing from the sudden stopping'of the liquid atgthe inlet port 12 is avoided by the toroidal-shaped portion 21 of diaphragm 21, since as the valve element 18 engages the seat 17, the sudden stopping of the fluid at the port 12 results in the stretching of the toroidal section 21a outwardly toward and againstthe somewhat complementary toroidal portion 14a ofhousing 14. Thus, there is provided within the valve itself the means of preventing Water-hammer or pounding in the piping system, the air entrapped between the toroidal portion 21a and its corriplementary toroidal portion 14a contributing to the elastic cushioning effect. I Referring now to FIG. 3, there has been illustrated the manner in which the present inventionmay be "em; bodied in a valve of the normally closed type, with a minimum of changes in the arrangement of the parts of the magnetic actuator. Since the valve itself including the valve body 11, the housing 14 and the actuator housing 15 will be identical, only a part of the valve itselfv has been shown and without th details of the cross sectional view of FIG. 1. Thus, the stem 23b of the valve 10 terminates flush with the surface of the armature 29.01? the magnetic actuator. The actuator itself has been turned up-side-down so that the coil 30 is enclosed within the downwardly extending cup-shaped member 31, which is itself held stationary by means of three. collars or spacing members 61 .of brass and best shown in FIG.'4. Through these collars or spacing members 61 extend three fastening screws 62. The headed ends press against the outer surface of the flat part of the cup-shaped magnetic structure 31 and their opposite threaded ends are secured in the threaded openings of a flange 63a having a downwardly extending tubular member 63 which is itself held in fixed position in the central bore of housing. 15 by theset screw 35. The central armature structure 27 has disposed within a central bore a compression spring 33 which 7 pressesfdownwardlyon the stem 23b of the valve to'bias the valve to -'closed position. In the closed position, the armature 29 still occupies a position in overlapping relationship with the outer longer'lengths of them'agnetic assembly formed by the cup-shaped member 31.

It will be seen that'upon energizing the coil 30 with direct current, the armature 29'will be quickly "drawn towards the central magnetic structure 27 quickly to open the valve. Water-hammer and the like upon closing the valve is avoided as explained above.

In the event of a power failure, it will be possible to open .the valv manually by rotating the member 51 which is threaded into the flange member 47. As the knurled member 51' is moved outwardly, its lower end lifts a washer 65 which engages the headed end 66a of a pin 66 extending downwardly into the bore 'ofgthe tubular portion 274'of the central magnetic structure 27. There extends from the lower end of thestem of headed member 66 a tension element 70 which is secured to the upper end of the valve stem 23b. .Thus, as the knurled member. 51 continues its upward movement, the' tension member 70, which may be a steel wire, a length of steel spring or the like, will lift .the valve stem 23b in a direction to open the valve.

Returning now to FIG. 1, it is to be observed that with the valve in the closed position, there is an annular area a of the annular reinforcing member 20exposed to the inlet pressure through inlet port,12 and which acts in a downward direction on the vaive member 18. This is in a direction partly to compensate for anyback pressure exerted on'the valve member 18 and its associated assembly as applied by way of the outlet port 13. The toroidal portion 21a also plays an important part 'in the balancing of the valve, as earlier explained.

"Where it is desired to increase this balancing effect, it will be understood, of course, that the area 20a of memb'er"20 available for the downwardly acting force may be increased as by increasing the diameter of the toroidal portion21a at the expense of narrowing the diameter of the flat central portion. 1 v p As shown in'lfIG. 5, the toroidal portion 21b itself may oc'cupya much large'r proportion of thespac'e. A larger annular area 20b will then be present to produce balanced-pressure operation.

Now that the principles of the invention have been explained at some length, it will be understood that they may be applied to valves of other types and for varying purposes. For example, in FIG.'6 there has been illustrated a six-way valve 175. This valve utilizes, for example, the actuator 15 more fully described in connection with' FIG. 1. It consists of six valve bodies 1 76, 177,

178 179, 180 and 181. Two of the bodies, 179 and 181, are members 'forming closures. Theseveral members are provided with ii-rings illustrated in conventional manner and .which need not be further described other than to say that they are provided at appropriate points to prevent leakage.

The purpose of the six-way valve 175 is to control the flow of liquids in respect to which there may be a hot stream of liquid entering through a pipe connection 182 and a cold stream entering through a pipe connection 183 The entering stream, depending on the position of the valve, then flows to a heat-exchanger or other utility device, as by way of an outlet pipe connection 184. If this be a heat-exchanger, not illustrated, then the return flow from that exchanger will be by way of a pipe connection 185 and if it be the cold stream, it will exit from the valve by way of a pipe connection 186. If it be the hot stream, it will exit from the valve by Way of a pipe connection 187. With thevalve in the illustrated position, the arrangement is suitablefor air conditioning in which a'cold fluid is supplied to the valve where it travels by Way' of pipe connection 183 and through the valveope'ning provided by the. displacement of the valve member 188 from its cooperating seat 188a. The flow is around 8 a toroidal chamber 189 and thence inwardly toth e outlet pipe connection 184 which'leadsto the heat-exchangerasprovided for typical air'conditioning systemsfTh'e'cold fluid returns from'the heat-exchanger'by the return pipe connection 185' and through the' valve opening between valve member 191 and the valve seat '192 and flows out Wardly through the pipe connection 186.

When a cool dayarriv'es, or when there is a'transfer from summer to winter on an air conditioning system, it is only necessary to de'energ'ize the magnetic actuator 15 for movement of'the valve members 187 and19 1 to close the previously described valve openings, and thus to provide openings by way of .a valve member 196 and'its cooperating valve seat 197, a'corresponding' opening being provided between a valve member 198 and its valve seat 199. As' will be obvious from an inspection of the drawing, the flow will then be from the hot'inlet connection 182 by wayofthe outlet pipeconneption 184 to, the heat-exchanger, with the return through the return ,pipe connection 185 outwardly to tlie hot-pipe return.connection187."

It is to be noted that the actuator rod 200 of magnetic actuator 15 has an enlarged portion 200}: on which there is mounted in a pressed-fit relationshipa cylindrical spacer 201 utilized to provide a good bearing surface, for valve member 196 and to facilitate assembly of the valve structure. Another spacer 202 of enlarged diameter is likewise utilized for. a stable bearing surface for the valve members 187 and 191 and to maintain a spaced relationship between valve members 187 and 191. A spacer 203 is provided to maintain the spaced relationship between valve members 188 and 196.

The assembly of spacers and'valve members is held together on' actuator rod' 200 by retaining clips, .the retaining clip 20% being'p'rovided atone end of the assembly and the retaining clip 200a being providedat the other end of the assembly.

The walve members 198 and 191 are provided with metallic backup'members'204 and 205. Between backup members 204 and 205 are spacer members 206 between which there are provided fluid passages for flowof the fluid from the return pipe connection 185 outwardly through either of the valves which may then be in the open position. j I

Wherepositive actuation is desired in both directions, that-is,'from energized "actuators, theactuator rod 200 may again be reduced in diameter and. may pass through the end body member 181 to which a second valve actuator will be secured. I K g It will be seen 'at once that there have been utilized again the diaphragms 221 and 221a whicl 1 may be of the same material and identical to diaphragms 21 which have been thoroughly described above in terms of their operation and their functions in preventing water-hamm'er or other fluid 'shocks to the piping system. In this connection, the toroidal chamber 189 is partly enclosed in other toroidal. chambers 222 and 223 and which have been found to be effective in absorbing the water-hamme'r sho'ckswhich give so much trouble in many systems.

It is further to be notedthat there has been achieved a balanced-construction, that is to say that with the valve in either of its two positions, the fluidfpressure acting upon the opposed valve members 187 and 196in'tlie one case, and 198 and 191 in the secondcase, do not produce unbalanced forces which must be overcome by the magnetic actuator15.' This is of considerable advantage in reducing the power required of the actuator and in practicefto make the valve practical where high pressures are utilized and in which unbalanced forces of the valve might require inordinate, if not impossible, forces for its operation interms of practical amounts of etfort used to'move the valve between .its two positions.

The space required for the six-way valve is minimal, yet it has'flexibility for widespread applications over and beyond'the heat-exchange field, and by utilizing suit- The six-way valve of claim 4 in which 'meansare provided to prevent water-hammer comprising sealed cavities in said body structure, each said'cavity being sealed by an elastic member, each said cavity and each said elastic member'being disposed adjacent an associated one ofsaid valve members with said elastic member exposed to fluid pressure from the inlet port of the last-mentioned valve member, which upon" occurrence of fluid-shock compresses ail" trapped ineach said cavity t'o absorb same.

' "6. A'six-way valve'chara'cterized by the shortness of its stroke between each of its'two positions comprising" v five body structures, a" valve stem extending through at least four of said body structures,

a first'of saidbody structures having two outlet ports,

a return port, and a valve seat,

' a second of said body structures having a Valveseat, valvemember's' supportedby said stem between said valve seats for moving them selectively to control fluid flow from said return port'to one of said outlet ports,

a third of said body structures having two inlet ports, two valve seats, and an outlet port,

valve members supported by said stem and movable against one or the other of said last-named seats as said first-named valve members are moved against their said seats,

one of said inlet ports being in communication with one of said outlet ports under control of said valve members associated with said body structures,

said valve seats and said valve members having large diameters compared with any one of said ports, and

means for moving said stem for simultaneous movement of said valve members for control of fluid entering through said inlet ports.

7. A six-way valve characterized by the shortness of its stroke between each of two positions comprising six body members, I

a valve stem extending through at least five of said body members,

a first of said body members having two inlet ports,

one outlet port and two valve seats,

a first pair .of valve members spaced one from the other for cooperation respectively with said lastnamed valve seats,

a second of said body members having an inlet port,

two outlet ports and a valve seat,

a third of said body members having an opposing valve seat,

a second pair of valve members spaced one from the other for cooperation respectively with said lastnamed valve seats,

spaced supporting members extending between said second pair of valve members and between which supporting members there are provided fluid passages leading to the respective valve seats,

diaphragms carried by two of said valve members including toroidal portions exposed to the controlled pressure for absorbing fluid shocks upon quick closing of one of said valve members against its cooperating valve seat, and

means securing said body members together to form a unitary valve construction.

8. A magnetically operated valve having a valve member characterized by the shortness of its stroke between a fully open position and a fully closed position comprising in combination,

a valve body having inlet and outlet ports in flow connection one with the other through a passage,

a valve seat forming the outer periphery of said passage,

said passage, said seat, and said valve member having diameters which provide areas which are large compared with the area of flow of one of said ports,

12 thereby to shorten the length of said stroke of said valve member between said fully-open and closed positions required to'equalize the area of flow into or out of said passage with said area of flow of one of said ports, stop means for limitingthe'movement of said valve member to a stroke-length which provides equalizationbetween'saidareas of flow,

a valve stem,

a diaphragm having'" its mid-portion secured to said valve member,"

said valve member and said diaphragm both being made of a synthetic rubber-like material,

'support'irig'meinbe'rs carried by said stem in positions to'pla'ce undercompression both said diaphragm and said-valve member,

saiddiaphragm-having a toroidal section intermediate its said outer peripheral portion and a central flat portion disposed between said supporting members,

Ta valve housing secured to said valve body with the outer peripheral portion of said diaphragm clamped -the'rebetween,

saidhousing havinga toroidal portion spaced from said toroidalportion'of said diaphragm whereby upon sudden closing of said valve said toroidal portion of said diaphragm can expand elastically to absorb fluid shock and resulting water-hammer,

a magnetic actuator having an actuating coil, stationary inner and outer magnetic core structures, and an armature connected to said valve stem,

said, outer core structure including a cup-shaped portion surrounding said coil and of slightly greater length than'that of said inner core structure for disposition of said armature in overlapping and spaced relation th erebetween,

said area of said passage being sufliciently greater than that of said one of said ports for movement of said armature in overlapping relation with said cupshaped' portion throughout said length of said stroke.

9. A valve having a valve member characterized by the shortness of its stroke between a fully open position and a fully closed position comprising in combination,

a valve body having inlet and outlet ports in flow connection one with the other through a passage,

7 a valve seat forming the outer periphery of said passage,

said passage, said seat, and said valve member-having areas which are large compared with the area of flow of one of said ports thereby to shorten the length of the; stroke of said valve member between said fully open and fully closed positions required to equalize the'area-of flow into or outof said passage with said area of flow of one of said ports,

stop means for limiting the movement of said valve member to a stroke-length which provides equalization between said areas of flow,

means for balancing the forces acting on said valve member due to fluid pressure comprising a resilient diaphragm clamped at its outer periphery to said valve body and secured to said valve member in spaced relation with its periphery, thereby to provide a peripheral area upon which fluid pressure from one of said ports actsin one direction, said diaphragm having an area upon which said fluid pressure acts in an opposite direction, said are-as upon which said fluid pressure acts to tend to move said valve member in opposite directions being substantially equal,

said diaphragm 'at its periphery having an enlarged cross-sectional area disposed in clamping grooves, and between its periphery and said valve member being of toroidal shape and so spaced from an adjacent wall of said valve body as to absorb fluidshock on rapid closing of the valve,

' said diaphragm having a flat disc-shaped center portion opposite said valve member, and

means engaging said valve member for moving it between said open and closed positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/ 1921 Lane 251-129 3/1949 Ray 251-129 10/ 1956 Frey 251---130 X 11/ 1959 Cooksley 137-625.65

14 2,992,304 7/1961 Andrews 335-261 3,034,761 5/ 1962 Janqu'art 2 51129 X 3,134,932 5/1964 Ray 251141 X FOREIGN PATENTS 299,215 6/1917 Germany.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

DENNIS H. LAMBERT, Assistant Examiner. 

